Automatic unloading device for vehicles



June 10, 1930. N. c. PICKAR D' AUTOMATIC UNLOADING DEVICE FOR VEHICLES Filed Feb. 25, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet June 10, 1930.. N. c. PICKARD 7 AUTOMATIC UNLOADING DEVICE FOR VEHICLES 4 Sheetssheet Filed Feb. 25. 1929 June 10, 1930.

N. c. PICKARD AUTOMATIC UNLOADING DEVI-CE FOR VEHICLES Filed Feb. 25, '1929 4 Sheets-Shef June 10, 1930. 7 N: c. PICKARD 1,762,240

- AUTOMATIC UNLOADING DEVICE FOR VEHICLES Filed Feb. 23, 1929 4 SheetsSheet 4 dawn,

Patented June 10, 1930 nAmnmi c. mm or oononenoisniirnes, eonon-Ano AUT MATIC 'nnL'oAnlnG -.n,evroze [Fort VEHICLES i Application 'fiIed Fehruary 23', 192s; serial No. 341159 Thisdnventionrelates toimprovements in trucks =provided with --means for unloading the-:material byxmeens of power obtained from the truck. engine.

In transporting -1oose rma-terie l such as coal, sand, gravel and. grain, or similar materzais, 1t lS customary to load 1 these materials into a hex for transportation; i Unless somespeciil meansis provided fonunioa'di0 ing the looX-hymeansofpovver itieneces sary to employ shovels and to nnloedthe .hox hy mammal.lab-or. V It is the object of this'inventionrto produce a truok which shall beso constructed thatdt shaii be 'esp'ecially Well adapted :for

use in connectlon with the transportation of coal: or eny oi the other materialslnenti'onedahove and which shall be provided 'With -meens-operated by the truck' engine for unloading and -forconveying the nnaterial to the "place here it 'is 'tofbe' stored. This invention, brieflydescribed, comprises atr-uek having an engine and providedywith a boxlothe proper capacity. j The bottom 5 of thebox is provided with an opening'near V the rear end thereof, which openingecanb-e closed' by mea-ns offour'doors hingedly connecte'd' to the-sides ofi'the opening and which canbe-moved into-open or: c1ose'd ;position across the E boxfrom one side thereof to the other. This scraper is slida-bie along; the bottom of the box zin'd normally occupies' epo'sition near the front end of -the boy Means 1S interposed between the scraper and the engine for moving-- the scraper j in; either direction long tudinally rof-the hon and over the scraper is operated The i conveyor is secured' toi the boxifn' such a: manner that it can lie-rotated. III-"21 plane parallel with i b thehottk mhof-the"boxthrough jan engle of Qendshowsa friction clutohwvhieh isinter-i posed; between the conveyor and the source or power;

i i Fig. #5 is 1a view taken 3 along 9 line 5 5 'wvhen the soraperreaches the Iimitof its' I 1 '1 Fig. S' is a view t a'i renelong -p bottom of theibox means interposed between the conveyor "and y the eng ne'ijoroperating the conveyorwhe n;

su bstaintiai'ly one hundred eighty degrees. Means is 512L180 provided for eutomaticellyj disconnecting aathe i-scraper moving 'mecha nism Whenever the "scraper approaches its limit ofatravjel inleitherdirection iHeving; thus briefly {described the inven tioirythe same Wil-I-nOW be described 'inde tail andreference forfthisvpurpose will be H had to thezeccompanying:drawingg-inwhich ilhistratechrand in which the preferred. embodiment thereof has been 260 .Figzzl' is a top pla-nview-oftliefbox, por

tion s-ithereof being broken away" to better disclose i the mechanismgsand 1 to show I its relationship; to the bodyof the truck ti'on ofthe truck, with parts thereof broken :Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3, Fig;

- Fig. 4 isIa-sectiontaken o n'line: H,

Fig.1; andshows"the re versingfgeers and f the meenszfor operating the-same; iffi,

Fig.4, and shows -the limit "stop for discon necti-ng the scraper moving mechanism travel in either-direction; p p

"Fig.5 is o sect on taken on line} Fig.- gand shoivs a' spring pressed detent wvhlh is employed for the purpose of properly pea sitio ning' thejgearsjof the reversing device;

, "Zv "is ia top? plan view showing --the- 8 doors .1115 opening closing pos1t1on,]fport ons be ng broken eway 'to better disclose the con struction; V ene 8'8,

Fig. gfae dashows the 'manner in which the c conveyor supporting chute 1s secured'to the 9' 'is a; se'ctiontaken on line 9+9,

' Fig l lis 2;Knew lo king in the direction, cit-arrow -11 Flg'fi 1Q; i-

endf

.65 5 Fig.2 is a, side elevation of the rear por F e'seetiontaken on "line 10410,, i I

1 2 {is af-vieWi-tti'ken on 12%12 7 been designated by numeral? is supported from the rear axle by means of springs in the usual manner. Supported on the chassis frame is a box which has been indicated as a whole by reference numeral 8 and which is separated from the upper surface of the chassis frame by supporting bars 9 and 10 which are preferably located directly .above the frame members 7 The box is provided with a bottom 11 which is V-ided with drums 15.

V portions 20 as indicated at 23. V45

supported by a suitable angle iron frame 12. Secured to the} under surface of the box are brackets 13 in which is rotatably mounted a shaft 14 whose ends are pro- These drums are preferably grooved spirally for the reception of the steel cables 16. Located at the front and rear of the box are pulleys 17 and 18, the pulleys located at the rear being indicated by reference numeral 17 and those at the front end by reference I I numeral 18.

A scraper extends transversely of the box from. one side to the other and is formedfrom a frame comprising spaced L-shaped members 19 whose base portions 20 extend at right angles to the verticalportions and rest upon the upper surface of the bottom. A plate 21 is secured to the frame members 19 and has an inclined portion 22 whose lower edge is secured to the front ends of the horizontal The ends of the plate 21 are reenforced by means of angles. 24. A bar having two angularly related sides 25 and 26 is secured to each end of the scraper'andforms means for securing the cable 16; to the scraper, all as-shown in Figs. 1 and '2. It is'now apparent that as shaft 14 is rotated, in a clockwise direction (Fig. 2), the scraper will be moved rearwardly along the inside of the-box. The other ends of cables 16 are secured to the frame of the scraper by means of clamps 27 and therefore the scraper can'be moved in either direction,

depending on the. direction in which shaft 14 isrotated. For the purpose of rotating the shaft 14 and moving the scraper by power derived from the motor of the truck,

a gear transmission has been provided which will tnow' be described. This gear transmission 1s enclosed in a housing 28 which ismade in two parts and so constructed that it may be separated along a 7 shafts that carry the gears 33 and 34, all

as shown in Fig. 1. A shaft 37 is rotatably mounted in bearings 38 in the ends of the casing 28 and this shaft carries two bevelled pinions 39 and 40," which are slidably but nonrotatably secured to the shaft. The hubs of pinions 39 and 40 are each provided with a groove 41 which is adapted to cooperate with the fingers 42 on the shifting levers which are connected with the bar 43. This bar extends through the gear casings and is slidably supported in the bearings 44. The lower end of a lever 45 is connected with one end of bar 44 and as this lever can be oscillated about a pivot 46, it serves as a means for shifting the bar 43 longitudinally. In Fig. 6 a .detent niachanism has been illustrated and from this it will be seen that bar 43 is provided with three depressions 47 which are adapted to be engaged by the ball 48 which is forced towards the bar by means of a spring 49. When the ball detent is in the central notch, pinions 40 and 39 are both out of gear and this is therefore the neutral position. WVhen the rod 43 is moved towards the left, Fig. 4, pinion 39 will be moved into mesh with the corresponding gear 36, and if the rod 43 is moved towards the right, it. will disconnect the pinion 39 and connect pinion 40 with the corresponding gear 36. The transmission gear is so arranged that it will'cause shaft 14 to rotate in one direction when'pinion 39 is in mesh with one of the gear wheels36 and in the other direction when pinion 40 is in mesh with its'gear 36. By having gear wheel 34 smaller than gear 33, a speed reduction is obtained when pinion 39 is oper-' ative and this is therefore the gear which is employed for moving the scraper rearwardly as force. instead of speed is desired for unloading but when the scraper is moved from the rear of the box towards the front end thereof, pinion 40 is put into operation, thereby increasing the speed at which the scraper moves towards inoperative position. Shaft 37 is rotated from the power take-offs 6 by means of a shaft 50 which is provided with two universals 51. The power may, of course,'be transmitted from the take-off to the shaft 37 I by any other suitable means, but the one shownand described is considered to be preferable on account of its great simplicity. 7

It is evident that unless some means is pr vi t toruhoviiig 1 piriions 39' mid tO' to u p o h per:reaches its --li1n it- "f travel in eitheii diiectio n that aking strains 'will be pro'chi-eecl when-the .ser-aper; has reaehecl either-'the most foi'warc V ly"- -or* mostrearwardly position. Fob the: purpose: of autoii'i etiBelly moving I the gears to iieutrial" position 52%: limit control mechai I nism has been provided which wi-llJi1oW-1 be described; This: eon-trek mechanism 2 com-k I prises a yokememberheving two end mem here 52: that: K are rotatably connected :vvitha he-ft 114: and held in pla'ee there0n .by'1neans 05 a colla'r :53; wliicli :prevents' longitildinal movement imone direction; While) loi gitudisntvl. movement :in the/opposite l direeti'on. is preventeda'by the casing281r Thatzvzportion 075 the "shaft located betweeirrthe. end I mem-z hers 52; is threaclerl as; shown Ein-aFi-g. s5. Encl members 52 are eoniieoted-i: by means; of bars 5% {and '55 I iIi- .'tl1erman11er iSllOIWIL-iil: Fig.: 5.3 Secured-to the threaded portimrof the she-ft are three nuts. which heme been designated a areference; numerals :56; '5'Z'and' 58': Nuts 56*and 58 are each iprovicleon one: sirlezriyith aato'oth 59 and are" split: and; havewtheiiisplite est-ls connected by rnea ns'oi a holtf60i Thesenuts gea'nz :be 12161.] ustecle lon'gitii'dinz il-ly by ,rotetingi them rel iitive to the: shaft and may, I

then; clamped: in adj listedposition i 1 by;

meens ofjthe bolts: 60.: 'lhe:1iut 57 is pros:

' vided onwopposite sides withui t0oth 6l and has wradial extension 62; Whose outer;.:end is": provided with I/ I a notehiuwhich embraces I 5; the bar: Nut-57 may 'be: split: alike-the other; nuts but" this is merely for thepurvposer of: compensating for :weanvas it must neverf;

q beolemped' so as to preventwrotzition;but'=on 1 the other hand must be freeftomotate' v'v'ithj- 0 one end-L with member-w that engages; the;

bar 54 so thatwhen-the yoke formed by end membe rs i, urotatedlebout the rax'is of shaft 14,710 4:3 Will bereeiprooatedfi It)- f -is evident that if shaft 14: rotates in-l'either Y direction thatthe;, nut;. 57 Will' be-a moved? longitudinally in, a i direetion} clep er 1cling; o the direetioir in; which the-shaft rotates for; g; thereesonthat nut =57 held against rota-i;

I gjtion byitheTod- 55: Asnutb'? approaehes either one v i-mite; 56-'o1. 58, one rot-its;teeth :5 6L will; be 3 moved. "into I the path ofyon'e i of; theteeth 59 and: as soon 1 as: thisxooeui'gs, 11ut 57 will: rotate and; move the 1 yoke [member I 1 as; to ldlscon ieet the -plnion b9i or e0; as thek case 3 may be v so as to; bringftheigeers into-' neut-relvpositiohk As:soonuas 'thegioperative; 4

- pinion" has been dis oenneetecl;v shaft 14: [Willi 5 immediately stop v as; the; parts have very little; momentum Y and large} amount- :of J

I friction end -awill? therefore"'notmoontihue to. I r move. afterr t-hei gears? have; been" moved atoneutral position; Qlhe; gearsfwillwbe held 65' in neutralr=positioni by ueens, of; the} detelfit respect to the-shaft Bar 43 isprov-i-clecl at i hold them: in closed p0 thereby shiitingthe bar' 43 ion gitlidinally' so I:

em: I

'omi ll is provided; with lan open; I

ihg lriezinithes rezme ncl' got 'the' box; Thiszl Ofmllihq iszo referablvrectan vularlassshowne b I v v I in: Fig;- 7 Land for the purpose of -closing the I I opeiiing:}' 'fourx'doors havew been provided-i These doors hev'ezbeengshown most 'olealrly v inrFigz-gfiia'ncl iarewform ed,..fron1.two'pa rsg m; I

the; doors 1 of; one pair being; designated by I referenceunumeral 66, and theicloorsiformingiz the. other pair; being. designate'clby reference l umerahfifl Eachxloior is in the-shape: of in. o

truncated; :isoseeles *triangle; whoisei base i is 7 53g provideclmvith" curved sections, 68 like those employecl iniordinary hingesrencl Whi.Cl1' 'f.CO" operate vvithasimilar-section 69 formedi1 te g I grail with the-bottom 11 so as to formue tionj they- 'occupy the-relative posit-ionshown in; Fig.1 3 7 ancl are thelcl: this position by inea siroflocking bars -70 tovwhichiretereneef' Will-be hereinafter made. ,Tlie';cloors-'may;g

to that shown in Fig ;9, :in fi vhich position I they formga' hopper :Whijoh directs. the 00:17:

te'htszof' the box dowiiwarcllyihto another? 7 I :1 11 p 1-. .-71 which will'.be--;hereinafterymore V fully described, .The -bars-70areprefereblyz 10o oflsetz "so as to. form; vvhzit' inhy b'e; terme I cranks 74; These :CIZ BQDkS ere offset qtmsuch I an .extentvthatz vvh r1theyyare 'inoveel' into 1 the, vertical 'position: shown 1 iIi- Fig.;9, they 1m;

wvfllhmoveathe;*doorsto elosed positionganclo I si ion; 1 and; whe-ngth'eiy I are rot-ateclkitontheifoil linewposi tiong they I permitthe doors, to" fliolIcL v downwardly as f; shownin IFi i 9, enel supportslthem iii-*proper rl llfi tog Sinceathe doors'67: are to essume thew v uppermost uIJQSE-lOD; a Whe i. the parts are n; w v the -ielosel posit on showntin -F1g,-'},7; lt is I I 74L- ;heve been provided wvi th pinsifi I I I o. have a smooth-upper 'suriace,l I whein the cloorsarerclosech doors {We p' ro-h videdai'oii thQ- iIfIlPQQI -"SHI fzLOE with triangular pieees'im wvhioh fit agei istthe ;slaiitihgsi, les ofi {hers- 466; and in: orgi'er to strengthen the i d rs GQ the la ttQ have n providedIwithzi similar; trieng llee eees .7', so-xthat: W hen J v I the doors ;'are close;

en cls moi-mted-lforizrotation- :inslbeariligsi-7L 35 The intermecllete portionsziotibarsw 70;:are-x I e t onit e t he @hopper Iabove areferredI-; II I I tograise' themefsomevvheti-faster i I I h n tlle il nthi pu po eitl wf' her'e is egdouble thick-{ IBXL provided which will now be described.

7 whole by reference numeral 71.

ne'ss of metal over the entire area of the opening. Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be seen that each of the .bars are provided with a, sectorshaped gear 78, which are in mesh and which 7 interconnect the two barsso that they rotate simultaneously,in opposite directions: and through equal angles. A handle 79 is se-' cured to the outer end .of the longer bar "(0 10. in the manner shown in Fig. 2, and this handle is employed for the purpose of rotating .:the bar 70 so as to move the doors to closed position. and to release them when'it is desired to unload the material from the box.

' m l hen the doors are in closed position, the

cranks assume a position substantially like that shown in Fig. 9 from which it will be seen that they are moved to a: position slightly beyond the vertical so as to prevent 2o accidental movement towards opening posi- 30': load will thus be unloaded. It is obvious that some means must be provided for transporting the material from beneath the hopper to the place where it is to be stored, and for this purpose a conveyor has been A circular steel plate 81 is provided with a rectangular central opening and is supported directly underneath the opening in the bottom 1 by'means of a plurality of rollers 40,82 which are secured to the supporting frame work by suitable -brackets"83. Secured to theunderside of plate 81 is a hopper shaped in the form of a truncated pyramid. This hopper has been indicated as a One side of this hopper is provided with an opening through which the conveyor 84 may be in'- serted into the'hopper in the position shown in Fig. 9. Theconveyor comprises a rec- 5Q tangular chute formedfrom steel plates and provided with vertical side members 85. At

one "end ashaft 86 extends transversely of the conveyor and is mounted for rotation.

in bearings'87. One end of this shaft'has a; rectangular section 88, while the other end is cylindrical but slightly longer than the" end havin the s uare section; At the other vend of the conveyor, a shaft 89 is moi'int-ed for rotation about an axis parallel with the 'aX sof shaft 86.- Sprocket wheels 90' are secured 'to' these shafts soas to form two aligned pairs over which the sprocket chains 91 may pass. A plate 92*extends from one end of the conveyor- 1:0 the other and serves "to supportthesproclret chains and the trans verse bars 93 by which they are connected. The inner ends of the sides 85 are provided with hinged projections 94 which are adapted to have their upper edges resting against the sides of the chute 71 in the manner shown in Fig. 10. A curved plate 95 is secured to the inside of chute 71 near the upper end thereof and terminates above the inner end of the conveyor. The lower end of this curved plate is supported on a transverse bar 96 which holds it in place. Plates 95 may also be providedwith upwardly extending edges 97. Plate 95serves to direct the material onto the conveyor in a manner quite apparent from Fig. 9. .Since the chute 71'is secured to plate 81, and since the latter is rotatably mounted on the rollers 82, it is apparent that the conveyor may be swung about the axis of the chute 71 through an angle of at least one hundred eighty degrees. The conveyor is so connected with chute 71 that it can be readily detached and the construction whereby this is attained has been illustrated in Fig. 10. From Fig. 10 it will be seen that the square end of shaft 86 extends into a similarly shaped socket in'the gear 98, while the other end of shaft 86 projects through an opening in the casting 99 secured to the outer side of chute 71. A hinged handle 100 is mounted for rotation about pivot 101 in the manner shown in Fig. 11', so that it can be swung into position across the end of shaft 86 and can also be moved to such a position that this shaft can be projected outwardly through member 99. FromFig. 10 it will be seen that the parts are so proportioned that the conveyor can be moved towards the right a sufficient distance to remove the square end of shaft 86 from the socket in gear 98 so that the conveyor may be disconnected and transported on the load or underneath the doors.

For the purpose of operating the conveyor the following mechanism has been provided so as to transmit power from shaft 37 t0- the conveyor. The bottom of the chute 71 is formed by means of a plate 102 to the under surface of which is secured acylin- 'drical casing 103 and a bearing block 104.

Block 104 is provided with a central opening through which a bolt 105 extends. Secured to the bolt below the block 104 is a tubular bearing 106 on which is rotatably mounted two bevel gears 107 of the same size andfshape; These gears are connected so as to form a unitary assembly. and so as to behold against relative rotation. gears 107 are in assembled relation, an annular groove 108 is formed in. which is located two plates 109 and 110. Plate l09.has

tending-portion has an opening for the reception of a bearing 112in which theshaft 113 is journalled. A bevel pinion 114 is When loo 7 curedto the outer end connected to the. inner endofwshaft 113 and meshes with the upper bevel gear:107, so that when gears 107 are rotated shaft 118 will also, be r0tated. A gear. wheel 115 is seof shaft 113. and meshes withlgear. 98-which=will therefore rotate whenever shaft 113' is rotated, and

-when.the conveyor is. in place this willbe operated whenever gear: 98 rotates. Q Plate 110 has an angularly extending portion 116 which carries a bearingfll 'ilirr which shaft 118is mountedfor rotation. ,.A bevel pinion 1l9 is securedfto theinner end of. shaft 118" and meshes with the lowermost gear Wheel 107. This shaft passeSthrough an opening inthe wallof. a-cup-shaped cylindrical member120, which is secured in place by the bolt 105 to whichit is. held vbymeans of a nut 121. tendsto the gear casing-.122 (Fig. 2) and is journalledin the bearing 123v in the .endof this casing, Casing. 122 is either formed integralwith adownwardly extending bracket 12st, .or securedto the latter; Theupperend ofthis bracket is secured to the chassis frameby means. of bolts 125.. A .;shaft 126 is journalled in bearing127*of ca'sing122 and has its upperendjournalled in bearing 128' of the gear case 129. :Sl1aft37 is provided with a bevel gear130 which is located inside of casing129andthis meshes withthe bevel gear 131' which is secured to the upper end ofishaftfl26. Secured tothelower. end

of shaft19-6 isanother bevel gea11132 which meshes with gear l33 located within the casing 122 Gear 1331s provided vwithan elongated hub 134: .whose outer endis our-. nailed in bearing135, lwhicli is securedto or forms part 0f'casing122; Aboltflilfi ex:

tends through an axiallopeningiii, hub 134' and has a threaded connection with an axial opening. in shaft 118i The inner end.' of

shaft 118 is providedfwitha circ'ularhead Yes 137., whilethe adjacent endof' gear 133is vprovidedwith a similarcircular hub or pro-- 7168 01011. which has been indicated. by refer:

ence numeral138.v Ac-ircular wooden block 139' is loc'ated'between thegear and the heirc cular head of shaft 118 and fornrsla friction clutch diskrthroux li whlch power is trans-x I mitted from the gear to the shaft, Bin

140-may enclose thehubjl38-and the dlSK'.

189v so as toalign thepar ts and to remove undue strains from boltx 135; Awasher14l1 is located-son the outer endlof bolt 136and The other end 10f shaft 118 eX-I because shaft 118 extends through, thecy-lindri cal wall and/holds it against rotation. Chute 71 andpart 103 Wllih-Wl1lCh4th6-COIlrg veyor is connected, can, of.c,ourse.;be rotatedso as to sw ngit to anyposit onw thirr an arcvof one hundredeighty degrees.

- It is often-necessary to ccarry -loads inl-J tended for different customers, especially handling. :coal and when this occurs arpartie tion 1418 is placed inside of the boxand'the coal is loaded into the compartment between "this partition and theflend ofthebox;

Goal, of c'ourse,:will{be 'locatedidirectly above thegopeni-ngin the bottomandwill be the first to .bedelivered. The partition ishel'd in place by means of-hinges.likethose shown i V in Fig. v12 v andindicated f by reference nil meral 14A. .These hinges, are placed on the front side of the, partition aiidwillprevent the partition from. moving forwardly b'ut permititto move .rearwardly so. th-atit-ispossible to emploiyr several of these partif tions and at. the same time not interfere with the unloading operation 'a'slthe partitio is' will merely slide rearwardly-with theload and in this manner a single loadl can. readily be. divided, into, a. plurality of parts each,

comprising only a portion ofithe total'loadp Iiil the drawing the box-has been'shown moreor lessdiagrammatically, but it is my intention to have the reare end of theboX' hinged so that it can'swing outwardlyand itis then possible to unload the box without opening the doors in the 'bottomian'd this mode of. unloading can .be employed'where sand, gravel-and dirt is to. be .unlo'adedmid which does not requ-iretoib'e conyeyedgtol'anydistance from the truck. The conveyor. 1s4}of ings I and whenever the material unloadeds tobe deposltedat some d1stancefro1nthe truck. The conve on can, of-course, be made:

course, need when unloading coalyintobuiljd asllongas desire and it is alsopossibleto employ several sections which are connected 7 together and operated, one from the other andin this manner the ;mater'ial can be conveyed a considerable,Y distance from the truck. f i" The severalgears sh-own are all enclosed in housings which can be packed with grease sorbet the gears willsalwaysnbe properly lubricated.

Theconstrnctlon shown. on the drawings and described hereim has, been found to be well. suited for tlflQPuIpOS8 bll-l1f1t ls of course, possible to obtain the same results with specifically different means, which, ,how- Y ever, will merely be the. mechanical equiva lents. For example, in some places sprocket chains may be employed mstead'offgears;

The specific construction of the doorsr'c'a n, of course, be altered-ash is possibl'e' to em.- ploy only two doors instead. oflthe four" but with the four doors constructed in, the manner illustrated; and described some advantages are obtained which could not be had if only two doors were used. 1 The construction by means of which the con veyor can .be rotated about a vertical axis is considered highly important, as by means of this adjustment, the conveyer can be very conveniently turned to the position most suitablefor the delivery of the material. It is, of course, possible to unload without having this adjustment and applicant therefore considers that his invention is not limited to this adjustable feature.

I want tocall attention at this point to i the construction of the scraper of which a is. y

figure it will be seen that the lower part of cross'section is shown in Fig. 2., From this tomand thereby produce a better cleaning effect than could be produced if the plate were not held against the bottom by the weight of the material as above described.

"When the mechanism above described is vto be used for handling grain, dry sand and similar materials, it is necessary to have a close ht between the ends of the scraper and the sides of the box so as to prevent the material from flowing past the scraper. For the purpose of making a tight joint between the ends of the scraper and the sides of the box, a leather strip 21 has been secured to the outer surface of each angle 24: in the manner shown in Fig. 13. This strip, when pressed against the sides of the box forms a tight seal that prevents material from flowing past the scraper.

Although the structure described is intended more particularly for unloading material, it is, ofv course, possible to attach a cable to the connecting link 25 and attach the other end of this cable to some article that is to be loaded onto the truck. The mechanism isthen put in operation for the purpose of moving the scraper forwardly, thereby exerting a pull on the cable which can be utilized for moving material forwardly in the truck and for lifting it from the ground anddepositing it in the truck. This has not been illustrated as it is merely an inherent function of the construction shown.

In the above description, the term truck has been used'and the device has been illustrated and described in connection with an automobile truck of the type employed for hauling heavy materials, such as sand, gravel and coal. I want it understood, however,

that the invention is not limited tothis particular kind of a truck, but can be used in connection with any form of vehicle, regardless of the manner in which itis supported, and one use to which I intend to put my mechanism is in connection with railway cars for the purpose of unloading freight cars in a similar manner to that described above. The power for use in unloading freight cars may be derived from an engine or motor at tachcd to the caror else power can be supplied by a prime mover such as an internal combustion engine, or an electric motor, which is'lrept at the place where the unloading is to be done. I

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced a mechanism which can be incorporated with a'vehicle of any type such as an automotive truck, or a freight car, and by means of which the load can be quickly unloaded anddeposited at any desired place and which when employed in connection with an automobile utilizes the engine which drives the automobile for the purpose of loading and unloading.

.Having described the invention what is canned as new is: p

1. A dump truck having an engine, a box whose bottom is provided with an opening near the rear end thereof, a plurality of doors hinged to the bottom adjacent the edge of the opening, means for moving the doors to closed position, means for holding the doors in position to form a chutewhen in open position, means operated by the engine for movingthe material along the box towards the opening, a conveyor located underneath the opening and means interposed between the engine and the conveyor for-operating the conveyor.

2. A dump truck having an engine, a box whose bottom is provided with an opening near the rear end thereof, a plurality of doors hinged to the bottom adjacent the edge of the opening, means for moving the doors to closed position, means for holding the doors in position to form a chute when in open position, a scraper extending entirely across the box and adapted to be moved therealong, means interposed between the scraper and the en gine for moving the scraper by power from the engine, means for automatically stopping the movement of the scraper at the ends of its travel, a conveyor located underneath the opening in the bottom and means interposed between the engine and the conveyor for operating the latter by power from the engine.

3. In a truck having a box provided with a rectangular opening in the floor near the rear end thereof, means for moving material from the front end of the box towards the opening, a door attached to each of the four sides of the openings, each door having the shape of a truncated isosceles trifor holding the doors in ,afpredetermined position when open and for moving the 7 doors to closed positionand latching them in closed position. i

4. In a truck having an engine and a box provided with 'arectangular opening in the floor of the box near the rear end oi tral portion against which. the doorsinay rest, means for interconnecting the. rods so I that they will rotate at the same rate in opposite direction and a handle secured to one of said rods. 1 [in testimony hereoi Iaihxpmy signa- NATHAN rennan.

the box, means for moving material from the front end of the box towards the openmg, door attached to each of the four sides" of the opening, each door having the,

shape oi a truncated isosceles triangle and having its base hinged to the floor so that it can be moved to and from opening-closing position, SfllCl doors when in open position forming a chute havingthe form of atruncated pyramid, means for holding the v doors in a predetermined 7 position when open and for moving the doors to closed position and latching them-in closed posi-v tion, a conveyor located underneath the opening in the floor and means interposed between the conveyor and'the engine for operating the conveyor by means of power derived: from the engine. I

o 5. In a truck having anengine and a box provided with a rectangular opening in the the the floor of the box near the rear end of b0X.,'11182111S for moving material from tront end of the box towards the opening, a door attached to each of the four sides of the opening, each door havingthe shape of atruncated isosceles triangle and having. its base hinged to the fioor sothat'it V i 7 can be moved to and from opening closing position, said doors when in open positionforming a chute having the form-of a truncarted pyramid, means for holdingthe doors in a predetermined position when open and for moving the doors to closed position and latching them in closed position, a convey- ,5

or located underneathv the opening in the floor, means for guiding materialonto the conveyor and means interposed bctvveenthe conveyor and the engine for operatingthe conveyor by means ofpower derived -from the engine.

6.' In a truck having'a box provided With a rectangular opening in. itsbottom near the rear end thereof, means for closlng said opening, said means comprising a 1 door hinged to each of the tour sides of the opening, two of saiddoorshaving the shape' of a trnncatedisosceles triangle, means for opening and closing the doors comprising two rods extending across the opening un-' derneath the doors, means for pivotally securing the rods to the bottom .of'the box, each of sald rods having an elongatedcen- 

